Janie’s Pantry Program - Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, LLC

Charles Boyk Law Helps Launch School Food Pantry

Janie’s Pantry Program Supports K-8th Grade Students and Families

Janie’s Pantry is an innovative program created by the leadership of Larchmont Elementary School in West Toledo. Thanks to the support of the Boyk Family and Charles Boyk Law Offices, Janie’s Pantry provides access to free food, personal hygiene products, and cleaning supplies to students and their families, to reduce the impact of food insecurity on academic success.

“We had a lot of students who were hungry, and teachers were supplying food out-of-pocket constantly,” recalls Larchmont Principal Kari Sharp. Although the Toledo Public School District already offers free meals to needy children during the school day, Larchmont leadership realized their students and families needed more.

“We saw a lot of students who were hoarding food in the cafeteria. We also saw a lot of students who were unkempt, wearing the same clothes over and over again, or were not bathing, because they didn’t have toiletries and cleaning products at home,” says Sharp. “Many of our teachers were providing the food, clothing, and hygiene products out of our own pockets until the idea for the pantry came about. So, our school leadership team decided that we were going to try to assist those kids to be able to meet those needs.”

They asked Charles Boyk Law Offices to be their community partner to help purchase food, personal hygiene products, and household cleaning supplies for students and families in need. “We were lucky enough to find Charles Boyk Law,” says Principal Sharp. “We worked with them to come up with a solution, and through their generous support, we were able to start Janie’s Pantry.”

Chuck Boyk and his family funded the program, which was named Janie’s Pantry after his late Mother-in-law.

From Snacks to Essentials:
How Janie’s Pantry Grew

Janie’s Pantry was established in a storage room inside Larchmont’s school library. It was equipped with shelving and stocked with food and other essentials.

No taxpayer money or school funding is used in the operation of Janie’s Pantry. The funding donated by the Boyk Family and Charles Boyk Law Offices goes straight toward helping children or their families.

“At first, we started off thinking about providing snacks for the students throughout the day or to take home,” says School Psychologist Sarah Darrow. “And then we saw more of a need for shelf-stable items like pasta and peanut butter, and some of the families started requesting household items like cleaning products, shampoo, and toiletries.”

“Now we offer personal hygiene supplies, food supplies, and household items for students and their families who cannot afford those things on their own,” says Darrow. “Some families go to the store and they have to decide, do I get a cleaning product or do I get food? By providing toilet paper, toothbrushes, personal hygiene products, cleaning supplies, diapers, and formula, we’re helping families not have to choose; they can get both.”

“The Islamic Food Bank also donates food and canned items,” says School Counselor Jessica. Kronovich. “We offer fresh fruit and things that need to be refrigerated, even frozen foods. We have a refrigerator and a microwave for whatever our kiddos need.”

Local Impact

School leadership created an online ordering system using a QR code linked to a Google document. Larchmont’s seventh and eighth-grade students are learn early job skills by stocking shelves, taking inventory, and fulfilling orders. Parental volunteers also assist with the program, which strives to maintain anonymity. “We try to make it as accessible as possible while also maintaining anonymity”, says Principal Sharp. “We never want to make people feel self-conscious about asking for help.” While school staff are aware of the needy families, the students and parental volunteers are not.

Access to food and resources through Janie’s Pantry has improved test scores and provides a lifeline for Larchmont’s students and families.

“We’re a community, and at Larchmont,” says Sarah Darrow. “We consider ourselves family, and we will do anything for our students to help them reach their highest potential.”

Principal Sharp hopes Janie’s Pantry can serve as a pilot program to address broader needs within the district. “Long term, I would like to see something similar in all of the school buildings, because there are a lot of elementary schools and high schools in the TPS area that could use the same program”, she says.

“There is such a desperate need for similar programs in our schools,” says Chuck Boyk. “I encourage other businesses and benefactors to come forward and create similar programs in other neighborhood schools.”

You can help support Janie’s Pantry by donating food, money or other supplies. Contact Larchmont Elementary School at 419-671-3650.

The Boyk Family and Charles Boyk Law Sponsors Positive Recognition System

The success of Janie’s Pantry inspired Larchmont leadership to seek solutions for other challenges facing their community. “We submitted a proposal to the Boyk Family to use some funding for positive behavioral support and incentives for students to come to school, arrive on time, be respectful and responsible, and reduce behavioral issues,” says School Psychologist Sarah Darrow.

With support from the Boyk Family and Charles Boyk Law Offices, Larchmont implemented a Positive Recognition System to encourage good behavior. “Students are given “Cub Cash” when they’re found or caught being respectful, responsible, or ready,” explains Ms. Darrow. “They can use their Cub Cash, to purchase prizes from our trophy case once a month.”

Larchmont’s Trophy Case contains snacks, school supplies, toys, and unique experiences they can purchase, such as sitting in the teacher’s chair, chewing gum during the day, or having lunch with the Principal.

The contents of the case are purchased with funds from the Boyk Family. The school has also used their donations to pay for incentives such as an ice cream party for students who participate in academic projects.

“It’s working, and that’s huge for us,” says School Counselor Jessica Kronovich. “I’ve been here for 10 years, and we have been actively trying different behavior incentives and reward systems for students. And with this, I’ve seen a huge difference!”